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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ground — the earth
  5. toast — bread
  6. ground — crushed
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cell — in biology
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. capital — a city
  18. ground — a position
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — an illness
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com